Thursday, March 3, 2011

seven-layer rainbow jello

For Matthew's preschool parties, there is always a sign-up sheet for what goodies to bring. But by the time I got to the sign-up sheet for the Valentine's Day party, the only things left open were "fruit" and "jello". Not wanting to just bring fruit, I signed up for jello.

On the drive to work, I started to brainstorm of what I could make with jello. Jello with sliced strawberries? Jello with oranges? What else could I put in it? And then it hit me - I would make rainbow jello! All kids love rainbows, and thinking about all the colorful layers in the jello immediately brought me back to my kid days. I can't remember specifically what parties or who brought it, but I do remember always gravitating towards it - and eating lots of it.

I had initially envisioned cutting out the jello into heart shapes for Valentine's Day, but I ended up using a flower cutter since my heart cookie cutter was too big. And even then I only did a few, as the jello was too tall for the cutter, so the shapes didn't come out nicely. So I just sliced the rest into small squares.

I have to say, this jello is highly addictive. The white layers are made with knox gelatin and sweetened condensed milk, which adds a nice creamy flavor to the overall jello. And who can resist something so colorful and fun to eat?

I love this idea! Katie's school is "sugar-free" so it's always so hard to come up with ideas of treats to bring on her birthday. I may try this! Did you just follow the recipe for finger jello? any ideas on making the white layers sugar free?

hi debbie! wow, sugar free? thats rough! i'll email you the recipe i used. as for making the white layers sugar free, i have seen recipes that use sour cream mixed into a jello layer, but it won't be white (it'll be a pastel version of whatever color jello you use). or maybe you could find a way to use sour cream plus knox plus agave nectar?